1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,840 and I didn't know what a hostel was. 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:04,960 I wasn't comfortable with the idea 3 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,400 of what I thought it might be. 4 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:12,080 But I entered in, I walked through the doors 5 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,300 at like nine, 9.30 in the morning. 6 00:00:15,300 --> 00:00:18,980 And this is an extremely pivotal moment in my life. 7 00:00:18,980 --> 00:00:23,520 James, you were in the back in the kitchen making pancakes 8 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,320 and you were like had your little apron on, 9 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:27,880 you were covered in batter. 10 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:34,040 And I was in tears, really lost both physically, mentally, 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,000 emotionally, so lost. 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,320 And you saw it right on my face. 13 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:39,320 You dropped everything. 14 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:40,720 You gave me a huge bear hug. 15 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,080 You didn't even say anything at first. 16 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:44,840 Literally just two strangers hugging 17 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:50,680 in the cute little Victorian house in Little Italy 18 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:51,320 in San Diego. 19 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,960 And I was like, it was that moment 20 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:59,240 where I knew that I was where I needed to be. 21 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,120 And I felt something that I'd never 22 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:03,520 felt before in my entire life. 23 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,120 So that was my very first introduction to a hostel. 24 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:08,400 Hello, friends and travelers. 25 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:09,320 Thanks for listening. 26 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:12,400 You are riding along on the Hostel Road Trip podcast. 27 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,200 Our mission is to spread awareness 28 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,800 of the true hostel experience in the Americas 29 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,040 and share stories from the fascinating hosts who 30 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,200 create those unique facilities. 31 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,920 I'm your host, Jimmy Black, joined alongside co-founder 32 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,600 of International Travelers House, Bobby Dyer. 33 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,960 Each session, we sit down with hostel operators or travel 34 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:33,280 influencers to hear about their road success, 35 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,280 discuss trending hostel topics, and close 36 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,320 with tips for travelers who are seeking 37 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:40,000 to have the ultimate experience when 38 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,080 visiting each destination. 39 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,000 You can't afford to miss this trip. 40 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,080 Now fasten your seat belts and let's hit the road. 41 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,520 Welcome back to the Hostel Road Trip podcast. 42 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,400 We've got an exciting day, a double header today. 43 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,480 Right now, we're meeting with Dave Cook out in New Hampshire 44 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:58,800 at the Barn Door Hostel. 45 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,280 I'm Jimmy Black with IGH Hostel. 46 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,440 It's currently up at our Big Bear Mountain location 47 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:09,480 and joined again by my partner and co-founder, Robert Dyer, 48 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:11,280 who's down at our hostel. 49 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:13,880 And I'm going to be talking to him about the hostel 50 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:18,320 and Robert Dyer, who's down at our Salilita, Mexico location. 51 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,280 Thank you both for joining us. 52 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:22,440 Yeah, great to be here. 53 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:23,680 Welcome, Dave. 54 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:24,840 Yeah, same. 55 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:25,920 Exciting. 56 00:02:25,920 --> 00:02:26,440 Yeah. 57 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,120 And we're also going to be meeting with Frankie Medusa 58 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,480 later this afternoon for the second part of our double 59 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:34,280 header. 60 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,720 So stay tuned for these episodes to drop, 61 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:38,360 as we've been getting about quite quickly 62 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,720 after we do our recordings and live and one shot, 63 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:43,640 one kill format. 64 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,760 So yeah, let's dive into it with Dave Cook, 65 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,560 who we obviously have a special relationship with 66 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:54,000 and a fondness and an intimacy, as Dave was at one time 67 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:55,680 part of the IGH team. 68 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,160 But he's gone on to open a rocking place out in New 69 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,040 Hampshire called the Barn Door Hostel 70 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,040 and has been running that for how many years now, Dave? 71 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:07,840 Entering in our fifth year. 72 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,040 Entering in our outstanding. 73 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,440 And the first couple are the toughest, as you know, Dave. 74 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,880 So you're past that hump. 75 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,720 And we're excited to hear your journey, 76 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,760 how you got into hostels, how you 77 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:22,760 have gone through this process of opening up 78 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,880 your own hostel and your style and what you have to offer 79 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,280 and what you see in the future for Barn Door Hostel. 80 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,920 But first, I always like to ask, what was your first exposure 81 00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:35,160 to hostels? 82 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:36,840 It was you guys. 83 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,840 The first one ever, you had never stayed in another one? 84 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,320 Literally never even heard of one. 85 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:43,120 Wow, OK. 86 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,480 Well, then we're going to get to a great story right off the bat. 87 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,280 So give us a little background, because you 88 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,920 do have a fantastic hostel story. 89 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,560 And the fact that the first one is even better. 90 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,200 Yeah, you chimed me into the fact 91 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:00,520 that this was 12 years ago, which is crazy to think about. 92 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,920 But yeah, I was living. 93 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:04,320 I was born and raised in Connecticut 94 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,880 and moved out west, as young folks do, 95 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:13,400 to go find themselves or get lost or both. 96 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,360 And I was waiting to hear back from a couple of job interviews 97 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:23,520 and had really run out of money and was down on my luck. 98 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:25,320 And I called my mom. 99 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:29,120 I was like, hey, mom, I give up on this silly California dream. 100 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:30,520 I'm ready to come back. 101 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,760 And she quickly Googled cheap places to stay 102 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,680 and found this little tiny Victorian house 103 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:39,200 called International Traveler's House. 104 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:44,160 And I think she booked me like two nights. 105 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:49,080 And I was almost adamantly refusing the fact 106 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,160 that I didn't want to go at all. 107 00:04:53,640 --> 00:05:00,920 I was too sheltered, too naive, too stuck in my own ego 108 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:02,080 type of thing. 109 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,280 I didn't know what a hostel was. 110 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:06,800 I wasn't comfortable with the idea of what 111 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:08,880 I thought it might be. 112 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,480 But I entered in. 113 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,720 I walked through the doors at like 9, 9.30 in the morning. 114 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,480 And this is an extremely pivotal moment in my life. 115 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,960 James, you were in the back in the kitchen making pancakes. 116 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,840 And you had your little apron on. 117 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:29,320 You were covered in batter. 118 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:35,680 And I was in tears, really lost both physically, mentally, 119 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:37,560 emotionally, so lost. 120 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:39,880 And you saw it right out of my face. 121 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:40,920 You dropped everything. 122 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:42,280 You gave me a huge bear hug. 123 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:44,640 You didn't even say anything at first. 124 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:46,400 Literally just two strangers hugging 125 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:52,240 in the cute little Victorian house in Little Italy 126 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:52,920 in San Diego. 127 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,520 And I was like, it was that moment 128 00:05:55,520 --> 00:06:00,800 where I knew that I was where I needed to be. 129 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,720 And I felt something that I'd never 130 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:05,120 felt before in my entire life. 131 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:08,360 That was my very first introduction to a hostel. 132 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,480 And after those couple days that my mom booked, 133 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,800 I saw a sign in the bathroom, I think it was. 134 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,120 It's like, ask us how to get a night for free. 135 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:19,960 Bobby, you were maybe on vacation. 136 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:23,280 I hadn't met you until like a week later. 137 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:26,800 But after those first couple days, James, you told me, 138 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,880 I just needed to clean the grill. 139 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:31,840 It had just been barbecue night. 140 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:33,160 And I needed to clean the grill. 141 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,640 And therefore, I could get a free night stay. 142 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:38,200 Fast for trade. 143 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,840 And little did I know that barbecue night was 144 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:47,200 something very, very important in the early growth of ITH. 145 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:52,840 And I had a full day of cleaning that area, the grill, 146 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:54,160 the beer cans, everything. 147 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,200 It was kind of a nice wake up call. 148 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,720 Like, oh, I've cleaned the grill before. 149 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,880 No, this was like I had to clean. 150 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,080 It's like cleaning a slaughterhouse afterwards. 151 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:08,760 But I do remember that, David. 152 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:10,440 You just looked like a guy like, this guy 153 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:11,400 doesn't need a pancake. 154 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,880 He needs a hug. 155 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:15,080 Absolutely, I did. 156 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:18,480 And to this day, I tell this story time and time again. 157 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,960 We've actually done a presentation here 158 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:27,600 at the hostel of how did Barn Door come to fruition. 159 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,880 And yeah, we do a bunch of different community talks. 160 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:33,040 They're called Chalk Talks. 161 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,280 And I did one. 162 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:40,480 And yeah, that was this pancake story is the story 163 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:42,880 that I start that with. 164 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:50,720 It's such a branded moment in my heart and in my life that, yeah, 165 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,240 that was my first introduction. 166 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:55,000 That's a beautiful story. 167 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,040 I don't know if you can beat that one. 168 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,280 But so many great memories flooding back in, 169 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,680 now talking to you in those early times. 170 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,880 And also showing how beautiful and powerful and impactful 171 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:13,320 the hostel experience can be when it's being executed properly 172 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,080 with the right style of craft. 173 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:20,120 So yeah, so happy that that experience put you 174 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:21,800 on that trajectory. 175 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,720 And that has brought you to where you are now. 176 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:30,000 So in that journey, let's kind of start to switch over 177 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,040 to the Barn Door Hostel. 178 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,120 How did that conception start? 179 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:40,080 And what were the first moves in your experience there 180 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,920 that it opened up five years ago? 181 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,760 So give us a rundown of how you got that kicked off. 182 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:53,440 Sure, in most people's lives, you take this path, 183 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,720 whether it be circuitous or very straightforward. 184 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:04,280 And I took a very circuitous one and kind of happenstanced my way 185 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,360 up to Romney, New Hampshire, where Barn Door is. 186 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:15,480 After leaving ITH, I worked at an adult summer camp. 187 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:19,000 I worked at a YMCA as an environmental educator, 188 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,560 as an age group director. 189 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:26,160 I worked at a rock climbing gym as a youth program director. 190 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:30,320 So I kind of took all of those things 191 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,280 and utilized them towards the hostel. 192 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,040 But the reason I was even up in this area to begin with 193 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,200 was because of the climbing gym that I was working at in Rhode 194 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,880 Island, where I went and served a couple tables for you 195 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,400 guys at the Mudville Flats. 196 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,840 That's another bizarre chapter. 197 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:50,400 I know. 198 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:57,840 It's such a beautifully intertwined life story. 199 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,240 Yeah, so I was in Rhode Island working at a climbing gym. 200 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:03,280 And people were telling me about this place called 201 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:07,640 Romney, which is a very small town. 202 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,880 It's like 1,400 people. 203 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,800 And the main demographic is over 50, 55. 204 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:19,960 But we're at the heart of White Mountain National Forest. 205 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,840 And there is an absolute mecca for rock climbing. 206 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,680 So as working in the rock climbing gym, 207 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:29,680 I went up to Romney to go rock climb on real rock, 208 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:34,880 and was camping and staying in hotels and bed and breakfasts. 209 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,480 And I was like, man, this place needs a hostel. 210 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,960 We need something that's comfortable for outdoor 211 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:45,560 adventurer people and affordable enough 212 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:50,960 that it's not $150 a night at the mom and pops B&B. 213 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,120 So I started looking around. 214 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,440 And I looked at a couple of different properties, 215 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,480 realized very quickly that I was way outside 216 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,920 of my financial ballpark. 217 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,520 So I had to convince. 218 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,200 Well, at first, I tried to convince my, at the time, 219 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,320 climbing partner's parents. 220 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:17,600 I tried to convince them to come in on the business. 221 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:19,840 And then they didn't really want to do it. 222 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:22,080 So I convinced my folks to. 223 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,160 And thankfully, we were able to secure a property. 224 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:28,000 It's nine acres. 225 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,240 It's beautifully situated. 226 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,800 We're two miles away from the climbing area. 227 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,560 And we do have camping. 228 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:40,040 We have about six or seven acres of camping. 229 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,520 We have our hostel, which sleeps 26. 230 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:46,920 And we have a converted bus that's 231 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,120 a little glamping thing and soon to build 232 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:51,760 a couple more cabins. 233 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:52,840 Amazing. 234 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,560 I love your, I have a similar story 235 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:58,240 of working at the hostel, leaving the hostel 236 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,240 for something else, and then coming back to the hostel. 237 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,160 And I'd interested, when you started 238 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,560 working at the other places after you left ITH, 239 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:11,640 at what point were you like, damn, I missed that hostel life? 240 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:13,400 And then I always had that bug and then 241 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:14,480 wanted to get back into it. 242 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,480 What drew you back in after leaving? 243 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:18,480 I'll be honest with you. 244 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,800 I missed it almost every single day. 245 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:25,240 I had it so good in San Diego. 246 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:29,800 You guys were such amazing inspirations 247 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,440 and amazing bosses. 248 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,160 And so after leaving there, it was 249 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:40,880 kind of a little bit of a rough break 250 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,280 in the beginning between us. 251 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,640 And very shortly afterwards, I realized 252 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,000 that I'm a complete idiot and I need to grow up. 253 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:58,160 And we, as friends and as business partners and whatever, 254 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:01,080 kind of realized, OK, it's nice for folks 255 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,560 to spread their wings and go experience other things 256 00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:05,440 and go work at other jobs. 257 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,200 But truly, in my heart, it never really left. 258 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:14,200 Like, ITH was such a defining moment 259 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:18,200 and such a defining feature of my personality, 260 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,920 the hostel lifestyle, meeting people, socializing, 261 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,080 lending a helping hand, building a community, 262 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,800 being part of a bigger community. 263 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,560 All of that stuff is super important to me. 264 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:34,680 And it really never left me. 265 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:38,240 And I tried to instill those things in my other roles 266 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:43,320 at other companies and doesn't quite line up 267 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:47,080 the same way it does as if you were owning and operating 268 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:48,720 or working at a hostel. 269 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,440 Yeah, we always noticed that in you being a, 270 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,320 you have that ultimate host personality. 271 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:54,720 You're a fun guy to be around. 272 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:56,840 And you keep life light and exciting 273 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,040 and have a can-do attitude, which 274 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,520 is what it takes to be a great hostel manager or owner. 275 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:04,560 But it is interesting. 276 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:07,280 We were chatting with Ryan for the Monterey Hostel. 277 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,840 And he said it nicely, like, the hostel is my life. 278 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:11,440 The life is my hostel. 279 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,280 And we find those are the best hostels. 280 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:18,240 You get to let your personality really shine through. 281 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,400 And people want to come experience 282 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,280 your level of hospitality or your personal style 283 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,240 of hospitality, which is different for everybody. 284 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,040 And that's what makes hostels so unique, 285 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,760 because you're really getting hosted at this place. 286 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,040 And I think that's why you've had so much success over there, 287 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:37,600 as you are a great host. 288 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,520 So we'll send the love. 289 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:40,640 Thank you. 290 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:45,040 You definitely keep us on our toes and inspired as well. 291 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,160 How about to the, you get open. 292 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,400 Tell us about kind of like opening day, 293 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,960 maybe the first 100 days or what. 294 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:54,440 It's a unique for everybody. 295 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:55,200 We love to hear that. 296 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,400 And what was that like for you? 297 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:03,040 Yeah, opening day is just a great talking point for us. 298 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:08,360 So we moved on to the property in May of 2018 299 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,720 and almost immediately started renovating this barn. 300 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:16,680 I think in our last Hostel Road Trip podcast was during COVID. 301 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:18,960 We kind of talked about converting. 302 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:20,480 It was a chicken coop at one point. 303 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:24,280 And we converted it into this hostel. 304 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:26,320 And it's totally transforming every day. 305 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:31,280 The room that I'm sitting in is new as of like 11 months ago. 306 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,000 So everything is always changing. 307 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:42,440 But opening day, it took about a year to gut this place. 308 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:44,000 It was gross. 309 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,800 And it was so bad. 310 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:52,440 Mice and just, it was just gross. 311 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,800 So we gutted it down, studs and cement, and that was it. 312 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:59,680 We built it all back up and opened, 313 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,800 had our like soft opening party, which turned into a grand 314 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:08,040 opening party, Memorial Weekend 2019. 315 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,000 And it was wild. 316 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,360 We were 100% sold out. 317 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,680 We had like, I don't know, 150 campers. 318 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:21,240 We had every bed full in here, 26 people. 319 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:22,520 We had a band play. 320 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:23,520 We had a food truck. 321 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,920 We had a bar, cart. 322 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:29,240 We had just people having a great time. 323 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,480 And I was having a great time. 324 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:34,480 Guys bringing moonshine over. 325 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:39,200 All of this like really rural New Hampshire community stuff. 326 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:45,360 And we had, so we had the police come once, 327 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:51,120 technically twice, but the first time they came and kind of 328 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:52,480 drove up a little bit fast. 329 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:54,160 Hey, you get in the car. 330 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:55,920 And I was like, me? 331 00:16:55,920 --> 00:17:00,480 So they put me in the car, thankfully in the front seat. 332 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:04,600 And we drove around and he pulled over to different areas 333 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,520 of town and he was like, oh, I'm going to go to the 334 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,080 different areas of town and turned off his car, 335 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:12,720 rolled down the windows and turned off the car and was like, 336 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:14,080 hey, what are you here right now? 337 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:17,760 And obviously we heard the party happening. 338 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:24,080 And it's such a small town that it was a new experience for 339 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:28,640 everybody, myself, the police officer, everybody in the town. 340 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:30,160 They didn't know what a hostel was. 341 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,320 They didn't know what kind of this party scene was. 342 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:36,000 The younger generation, like I said, the main demographic is 343 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:37,760 up there. 344 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:42,640 So he brought me back eventually. 345 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,440 And a couple of hours later, we had this guy who was riding 346 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:48,400 his bike down. 347 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,160 We have two camping fields. 348 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:55,040 One is like up on a hill behind the hostel and one is down low 349 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:56,320 in front of the hostel. 350 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:01,200 And so he was riding his bike down this gravel hill from one 351 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:05,760 to the other and went over his handlebars. 352 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:07,040 It was bad. 353 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:08,480 I will save you the details. 354 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:17,040 His body was laying face down and his head was face up. 355 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,920 Thankfully, I mean, you joked when we first jumped on this 356 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,800 call about my stash looking like a lifeguard. 357 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:32,240 Thankfully, I was a lifeguard for many, many years. 358 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:34,720 And so my instincts kicked in. 359 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:37,200 We had somebody calling 911. 360 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,920 We had somebody checking his pulse, all of this stuff. 361 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,560 And this is while a band is playing on our opening. 362 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,920 We had not even had anybody sleep overnight yet. 363 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,760 And this day one, like 6 p.m. 364 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,040 So the ambulance finally gets here. 365 00:18:57,120 --> 00:18:59,440 You saw this guy or was a cop there when the guy went over 366 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:00,160 the handlebars? 367 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:01,680 No, this was like hours later. 368 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,520 Yeah, this was like 6 or 7 p.m. 369 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,920 Yeah, and the cop came at like 3 30. 370 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:09,280 Welcome to the neighborhood. 371 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:09,760 The neighbors. 372 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:10,260 Yeah. 373 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:11,600 Yep. 374 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:15,760 So this guy flips over the handlebars, ends up with a broken neck. 375 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:24,640 They are, I mean, my lifeguard training is not EMT and ambulance 376 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,080 training, but I'm witnessing some things that are like, 377 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:29,680 you probably shouldn't do that. 378 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:37,520 You know, asking the guest, yes or no questions. 379 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,680 Like the first thing you do if somebody has something broken 380 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,080 in their neck, you don't ask them yes or no questions. 381 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:46,000 They're just going to nod their head. 382 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:46,500 Yes. 383 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,120 So it was just wild. 384 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:53,300 Say again. 385 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,600 You never want to be the drunkest guy at the party. 386 00:19:57,600 --> 00:19:58,720 Because you got exactly. 387 00:19:58,720 --> 00:19:59,280 Exactly. 388 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:03,200 So I find out weeks later that he's totally fine. 389 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:07,920 He just had a little neck brace on for a little while 390 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,560 and then was like riding his ATV around. 391 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:14,080 So a friend of a friend sent me a video of him riding his ATV around. 392 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:15,040 So he's totally fine. 393 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,480 But the moment of panic, a day. 394 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,440 We literally just to add the icing on the cake. 395 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:29,600 Like, I don't know how you guys feel about insurances and insurance companies. 396 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:37,120 Very, very difficult to describe a hostile to an insurance company. 397 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:38,880 So we've tried a ton. 398 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:44,480 And thankfully, we signed our insurance papers that morning, 399 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:46,080 the morning of the party. 400 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:47,040 Oh, my God. 401 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,240 And then this happens. 402 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:50,240 You know, the cops come, the ambulance comes. 403 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:52,320 So it was just totally insane. 404 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,040 It's been knock on wood, smooth sailing. 405 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,120 You just got to get it out of the way. 406 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:01,200 Yeah, you ripped the bandaid right off. 407 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:04,720 That's just wild right there. 408 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,640 And I think on the first day and so much panic and anxiety. 409 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:08,960 All right. 410 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:11,920 They're already at the tops. 411 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:13,280 And then you throw that on. 412 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,080 And the fact that you were detained by the cop and driven around, 413 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:17,280 that's just too much. 414 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:19,280 You could make a movie out of that opening day. 415 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:26,080 Yeah, it turns out I ended up complaining to the town 416 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:30,400 about the police officer because there's not a noise ordinance in town. 417 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,040 Well, there is, but it's not pertaining to parties or anything like that. 418 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,000 And since that day, we've been very respectful. 419 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,480 But I did go to the town and say, hey, listen, I was borderline detained 420 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:44,320 by this officer and whatever. 421 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:49,120 And I had to give a statement to the town and the officer had to go in 422 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:50,640 and give his statement. 423 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:56,240 And I don't know if I had a direct relation or correlation to this, 424 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:57,760 but he has since been let go. 425 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,640 And the officer that's in town now is amazing. 426 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:06,560 He's been here probably a dozen times on Good Faith 427 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,520 and just checking things out, coming for community events. 428 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:10,560 Oh, cool. 429 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:18,240 Yeah, yeah, it was a weird situation for us to navigate through a small town 430 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:25,040 with kind of a disgruntled officer and a broken neck. 431 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,200 Yeah, that as well. 432 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:31,280 I was actually talking and you're going to be, you'll laugh, 433 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,800 and you'll be getting contacted sometime shortly. 434 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:39,600 We're doing a project in the attempt to bring about hostile awareness 435 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,200 of writing another hostile book. 436 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:42,640 Yes. 437 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:44,960 I've given them your name. 438 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:48,240 We have a ghost writer who's lived on site now for about a year 439 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:49,520 throughout different IGHs. 440 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,000 He's our version of Hunter S. Thompson of the Hell's Angels. 441 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:54,560 And he's a great guy named that. 442 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:58,640 And he's going to be reaching out to you because when we were doing 443 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,080 the interviews with him, he was taking his note taking 444 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:06,000 and capturing people's names in the beginning that were repeated. 445 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:07,440 And yours, of course, was one of them. 446 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,760 But just back to your experience, the same thing with us. 447 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,000 It's such wild times in the beginning. 448 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:19,360 And we were moving so fast and trying to open up multiple spots 449 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:25,360 in those first second year that I always reflect on how crazy it was 450 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:29,680 and how wild it was that we lost a lot of good men, including yourself, 451 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:32,880 because it was just such a chaotic, wild, 452 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:38,960 wild, but that story you have, though, man, that's the tops for opening days. 453 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:39,460 Yeah. 454 00:23:39,460 --> 00:23:46,340 Now, how about the hostile industry in New Hampshire? 455 00:23:46,980 --> 00:23:51,460 I'm very curious on that as we once did a road trip through New Hampshire 456 00:23:52,260 --> 00:23:55,220 doing podcasts with the hostels that were there at that time. 457 00:23:55,220 --> 00:23:57,060 And this is years ago before the pandemic. 458 00:23:59,380 --> 00:24:04,100 As we were posting old episodes from the archives or going to post them, 459 00:24:04,100 --> 00:24:07,940 we did see that it seemed like some of the places up there may not still be open. 460 00:24:07,940 --> 00:24:11,860 But I was curious, what's it look like now as far as the New Hampshire 461 00:24:11,860 --> 00:24:12,980 hostile operation? 462 00:24:12,980 --> 00:24:14,020 How many are active? 463 00:24:14,580 --> 00:24:15,080 Sure. 464 00:24:15,780 --> 00:24:22,340 It's wildly different to compare a rural state like New Hampshire 465 00:24:22,340 --> 00:24:26,500 to a more densely populated state like California. 466 00:24:27,380 --> 00:24:32,100 And the sheer number of hostels is crazy different. 467 00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:40,180 Crazy different. New Hampshire, to the best of my knowledge, has maybe 10. 468 00:24:40,180 --> 00:24:40,820 That's cool. 469 00:24:41,460 --> 00:24:50,580 Yep. And of those 10, I would say maybe four are like above board. 470 00:24:51,220 --> 00:24:52,980 A legit operation. 471 00:24:52,980 --> 00:24:53,940 Absolutely. Yeah. 472 00:24:55,300 --> 00:24:59,140 That's on par with numbers for every state, I'd say. About half of them. 473 00:24:59,780 --> 00:25:01,300 Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 474 00:25:01,300 --> 00:25:06,100 So we drew a lot of inspiration not only from ITH in my time there, 475 00:25:06,740 --> 00:25:12,500 but inspiration from a very famous hostel in New Hampshire, the Notch Hostel. 476 00:25:13,060 --> 00:25:17,220 And I think you guys have done an episode with Serena at the Notch Hostel. 477 00:25:17,220 --> 00:25:18,580 Amazing stuff. 478 00:25:18,580 --> 00:25:20,180 She runs such a tight ship. 479 00:25:20,740 --> 00:25:28,420 She has guest requests as the number one thing on her agenda every single day. 480 00:25:28,420 --> 00:25:32,180 She just wants to make sure that every single person is taken care of. 481 00:25:32,180 --> 00:25:37,700 So we really thought that that was obviously a huge thing. 482 00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:43,220 Like you said, any good host, you want to just make sure that that guest is taken care of. 483 00:25:43,860 --> 00:25:49,380 So we pulled a lot of inspiration from her and asked her for help when we were opening, too. 484 00:25:49,380 --> 00:25:58,660 Her and I helped kind of gather a couple local hostel owners in Maine and Vermont and New Hampshire. 485 00:26:00,100 --> 00:26:03,620 It started out as New Hampshire Hostels Network and then moved into 486 00:26:03,620 --> 00:26:05,700 the more of the New England Hostels Network. 487 00:26:05,700 --> 00:26:07,300 Oh, awesome. 488 00:26:07,300 --> 00:26:11,540 We probably have maybe a dozen total. 489 00:26:12,820 --> 00:26:17,540 Not all of those are active in the chats and whatever, but yeah. 490 00:26:17,540 --> 00:26:22,180 It's just kind of something to share. 491 00:26:22,180 --> 00:26:28,420 And we're all spaced out nicely. 492 00:26:28,420 --> 00:26:30,580 So we're not stealing each other's guests. 493 00:26:30,580 --> 00:26:34,900 And not that that's, in my opinion, ever really a thing. 494 00:26:34,900 --> 00:26:38,820 Like Bobby said in the beginning, every hostel and every host is totally different. 495 00:26:39,460 --> 00:26:41,140 And every guest is totally different. 496 00:26:41,140 --> 00:26:47,860 So somebody could be looking for something that Barn Door offers for one specific weekend, 497 00:26:47,860 --> 00:26:54,660 even though they're a diehard, not hostile guest, for example, and vice versa. 498 00:26:54,660 --> 00:27:00,500 So I don't see any sort of competition with any of them. 499 00:27:00,500 --> 00:27:04,740 And I think that this group that we formed, this network that we formed, 500 00:27:04,740 --> 00:27:09,220 has helped with just sharing information with great guests, with groups. 501 00:27:09,220 --> 00:27:13,380 If we're booked and, oh, this other hostel might have accommodations available, 502 00:27:14,900 --> 00:27:17,700 troublesome people in the area, everything. 503 00:27:19,540 --> 00:27:20,660 That is awesome here. 504 00:27:20,660 --> 00:27:23,300 I think that what you say is so true about, 505 00:27:23,300 --> 00:27:26,420 and the not-chance is a good example of just focusing on every guest. 506 00:27:26,420 --> 00:27:30,340 And one crucial thing in that is how big is your hostel? 507 00:27:30,340 --> 00:27:34,260 Because at a certain point, there's a threshold where you're just not going to be able to do that 508 00:27:34,260 --> 00:27:40,180 anymore, give them that host to guest catered experience, custom experience. 509 00:27:40,180 --> 00:27:44,100 So I love the size of your hostel as well as the size of Notch Hostel. 510 00:27:44,100 --> 00:27:49,380 And we have hostels that are in that range of 30 to 80 beds, 511 00:27:49,380 --> 00:27:55,540 but it's so much more prevalent in the 30 bed hostels, how much more of that you can do. 512 00:27:56,100 --> 00:28:00,820 It's just like focusing on the individual and making sure their experience is as best 513 00:28:00,820 --> 00:28:06,740 as can be in helping them because that really, in addition to the social atmosphere of the hostel, 514 00:28:06,740 --> 00:28:09,940 it can be a huge differentiator compared to hotels. 515 00:28:10,660 --> 00:28:11,860 They're just not going to get that. 516 00:28:12,820 --> 00:28:21,220 I think that the authenticity of a hostel, the personal touch dwindles drastically. 517 00:28:21,220 --> 00:28:23,380 It's kind of an exponential decay. 518 00:28:23,380 --> 00:28:26,740 Yeah, absolutely. 519 00:28:26,740 --> 00:28:32,500 Well, I think today, especially you're seeing a lot of people are looking for community, 520 00:28:32,500 --> 00:28:34,500 looking for connection coming out of the pandemic. 521 00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:38,100 And now also with AI, it's taken over everything. 522 00:28:38,100 --> 00:28:45,140 So you're seeing, again, people want to embrace the humanity and the human connection. 523 00:28:45,140 --> 00:28:49,140 You guys do an amazing job with having that community vibe. 524 00:28:49,140 --> 00:28:55,060 And I think it sounds like you've mended any fences with people when you first moved in, 525 00:28:55,700 --> 00:28:57,380 we had so many great local events. 526 00:28:57,380 --> 00:29:03,700 But how do you guys prioritize that and try to execute a great community plan 527 00:29:04,340 --> 00:29:07,060 to welcome the community and host these events at the hostel? 528 00:29:07,060 --> 00:29:10,420 What is your kind of mindset there that maybe other hostels could try to learn from? 529 00:29:10,420 --> 00:29:18,660 My background is in community development or just community in general. 530 00:29:19,860 --> 00:29:32,260 Growing up, going to and working at a YMCA kind of developed my love for both being in 531 00:29:32,260 --> 00:29:35,540 the community that I'm in, but also creating little communities within that. 532 00:29:35,540 --> 00:29:40,980 Whether it's somebody, for example, at the YMCA being part of the weightlifting crew, 533 00:29:40,980 --> 00:29:47,460 you know, you see the same eight guys every weekend going in the weight room or the same 534 00:29:48,420 --> 00:29:50,980 couple of old ladies at the pool aqua sizing. 535 00:29:50,980 --> 00:29:58,180 So just those little tiny communities are an obvious and very important part of the 536 00:29:58,180 --> 00:29:59,860 larger overall community. 537 00:29:59,860 --> 00:30:12,500 And it's our probably number one priority is to not only host the local community that we have, 538 00:30:13,460 --> 00:30:24,660 but also to engage them and pull them in for an art night or a craft fair or a family movie night, 539 00:30:24,660 --> 00:30:30,740 something that just tells the locals, hey, we're here. 540 00:30:30,740 --> 00:30:32,340 We're not weird. 541 00:30:32,340 --> 00:30:34,740 We're not whatever you think that we are. 542 00:30:34,740 --> 00:30:37,460 The story you heard about the guy that broke a neck. 543 00:30:37,460 --> 00:30:39,860 That was exactly whatever. 544 00:30:40,420 --> 00:30:42,740 Come on over, hang out, bring your kids. 545 00:30:42,740 --> 00:30:45,300 We're showing Toy Story tonight, whatever you want, you know. 546 00:30:46,580 --> 00:30:49,780 So it's really nice to be able to do that. 547 00:30:49,780 --> 00:30:57,140 And then for that community of locals to blend with these outdoor adventure people that are 548 00:30:57,140 --> 00:30:59,140 coming as guests here. 549 00:30:59,140 --> 00:31:05,060 So we'll have on any given night, I don't know, 30 to 50 people just floating around, 550 00:31:05,060 --> 00:31:14,660 whether it's inside in the hostel or outside on the campground, and just be just exist with these 551 00:31:14,660 --> 00:31:22,260 locals. And the beautiful thing about the location that we have is that we're surrounded by nature. 552 00:31:22,260 --> 00:31:29,380 And nature is kind of like a grounding, a common ground for everybody, right? 553 00:31:29,380 --> 00:31:37,940 If you don't love fresh air, how could it be more easy to connect? 554 00:31:37,940 --> 00:31:40,180 You're all out here. 555 00:31:40,180 --> 00:31:41,220 Maybe you're a local. 556 00:31:41,220 --> 00:31:45,540 You moved here 50 years ago. Your family's been here all your life or whatever. 557 00:31:45,540 --> 00:31:46,580 Because you love it up here. 558 00:31:46,580 --> 00:31:48,020 It's nature. 559 00:31:48,020 --> 00:31:49,780 There's not a lot of people. 560 00:31:49,780 --> 00:31:54,820 You get to see trees and beautiful blue herons flying through the river. 561 00:31:54,820 --> 00:32:02,500 And the same thing, the same essence is why rock climbers come here, why hikers come here, 562 00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:04,500 why whitewater kayakers come here. 563 00:32:04,500 --> 00:32:08,180 They're looking to be out in nature. 564 00:32:08,180 --> 00:32:16,180 And so it's really nice to have the local community and the outdoor community blend. 565 00:32:16,180 --> 00:32:23,060 Sure, it might take Toy Story 3 or it might take an art fair to do that, but those folks are there 566 00:32:23,060 --> 00:32:25,060 and they're interacting together. 567 00:32:25,060 --> 00:32:27,700 And that to me is super special. 568 00:32:27,700 --> 00:32:28,900 Absolutely. 569 00:32:28,900 --> 00:32:37,460 I think that you'll give a great example of how organically one can represent the nature of the 570 00:32:37,460 --> 00:32:41,460 hostel and the way they want it to be seen and control the narrative more. 571 00:32:41,460 --> 00:32:47,780 Because as you know, we know, the listeners know, the hostels have a horrible stigma in the U.S. 572 00:32:47,780 --> 00:32:54,340 And that's a big part of the reason why we're trying to do this book is to bring the other side 573 00:32:54,340 --> 00:32:56,340 to the story or more awareness. 574 00:32:57,060 --> 00:33:04,260 Because it just seems like we just get slammed with slanderous type of perceptions that are out there. 575 00:33:04,260 --> 00:33:10,100 And this is a great way what you're doing to at least control your local community, 576 00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:14,500 what surrounds you by bringing them awareness about what you are and who you are. 577 00:33:14,500 --> 00:33:18,980 And that's going to bring in all kinds of good vibes, but also good business. 578 00:33:18,980 --> 00:33:21,300 They're going to refer you to their friends now. 579 00:33:21,300 --> 00:33:26,100 You're going to have a good perception within the community, within the law enforcement agencies. 580 00:33:26,100 --> 00:33:32,580 So I think that's awesome what you're doing, not only having events, but letting your facilities 581 00:33:32,580 --> 00:33:37,380 be used to have certain events like yoga retreats and meetups. 582 00:33:37,380 --> 00:33:43,620 That can just be so powerful and profound of an impact for hostile awareness for everyone, 583 00:33:43,620 --> 00:33:45,380 for the industry. 584 00:33:45,380 --> 00:33:50,740 So the more that we can all do that, the more we can organically fight back against that stigma. 585 00:33:51,460 --> 00:33:51,960 Totally. 586 00:33:52,500 --> 00:33:56,580 Yeah, and this podcast is one of the big things we're doing while we want to share the stories. 587 00:33:56,580 --> 00:34:00,020 You hear the stories from the owners of the hostel, what their hostels are about and the 588 00:34:00,020 --> 00:34:05,220 mission they're on, so it can help display the truth to the community. 589 00:34:05,940 --> 00:34:10,820 And just to add to those great events you're doing, I think it's hostels, the more and more 590 00:34:10,820 --> 00:34:15,700 hostels can get looked at as like a friendly gathering place for the international community 591 00:34:15,700 --> 00:34:18,580 or any kind of traveler in the little community. 592 00:34:18,580 --> 00:34:19,460 That's a great thing. 593 00:34:19,460 --> 00:34:24,260 So now there's affordable lodging in each town and a friendly welcome host. 594 00:34:24,260 --> 00:34:29,700 And also from the marketing side, if you're sitting at your place and it's the low season, 595 00:34:30,100 --> 00:34:35,140 instead of just sitting around frustrated that you're empty during the low season, 596 00:34:35,620 --> 00:34:38,260 utilize your local community, host some local events. 597 00:34:38,260 --> 00:34:39,220 Now you're doing some great work. 598 00:34:39,220 --> 00:34:42,260 You're building relationships and it's amazing. 599 00:34:42,580 --> 00:34:46,580 If you build five, 10 relationships, you build one relationship before you know it, 600 00:34:46,580 --> 00:34:49,300 their cousin's visiting, staying at the hostel, booked for seven nights. 601 00:34:49,300 --> 00:34:49,940 Precisely. 602 00:34:49,940 --> 00:34:56,900 So the more popular you can become in a positive way and obviously provide the people with 603 00:34:56,900 --> 00:35:03,460 a great experience and a great room at its core, but it does wonders for growth and filling 604 00:35:03,460 --> 00:35:04,180 up your beds. 605 00:35:04,180 --> 00:35:06,260 So yeah, absolutely. 606 00:35:06,900 --> 00:35:13,940 I think that there isn't really a community center around us. 607 00:35:13,940 --> 00:35:20,340 I mean, we do have a university in the next town over, but I think that that draws a ton 608 00:35:20,340 --> 00:35:25,140 of the younger crowd, which is totally perfect for that. 609 00:35:25,140 --> 00:35:29,220 But we want to kind of provide a community space for everybody. 610 00:35:29,220 --> 00:35:35,860 And exactly what you said, Bobby, we have a local person and they have a little cabin, 611 00:35:35,860 --> 00:35:40,180 an off-grid cabin, but their kids are coming to visit or the grandkids are coming to visit. 612 00:35:40,180 --> 00:35:44,180 And they need another place to stay. 613 00:35:44,180 --> 00:35:48,420 Now that person that lives in the town knows about us because they came to a basket weaving 614 00:35:49,300 --> 00:35:53,700 retreat or just a little movie night, whatever it may be, a wine night. 615 00:35:54,580 --> 00:35:59,860 They now know about us and they say, hey, son, grandson, like y'all can stay right down 616 00:35:59,860 --> 00:36:00,500 the road. 617 00:36:00,500 --> 00:36:02,100 They're super comfortable. 618 00:36:02,100 --> 00:36:03,300 It's whatever, whatever. 619 00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:09,300 And they don't have this, they don't have this, they don't have this, they don't have 620 00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:16,580 this idea, this, this mystery of whatever this place may be. 621 00:36:17,380 --> 00:36:18,180 And I had that too. 622 00:36:18,180 --> 00:36:24,020 When I was, when I first stepped foot in your guys place, I saw the movie hostile, you know, 623 00:36:24,020 --> 00:36:28,980 like that's what everybody, you know, it's a, it's a hackneyed subject, but yeah, the 624 00:36:28,980 --> 00:36:35,060 movie hostile kind of is what anybody and everybody that ever has heard of the word 625 00:36:35,060 --> 00:36:37,860 hostile, but doesn't know what a hostile is, thinks. 626 00:36:37,860 --> 00:36:39,460 Defaults. 627 00:36:39,460 --> 00:36:39,860 Yeah. 628 00:36:39,860 --> 00:36:40,740 Total default. 629 00:36:41,780 --> 00:36:49,300 And it's, you know, it's a great horror movie, but it's not what this is about. 630 00:36:50,100 --> 00:36:51,700 It's not, not at all. 631 00:36:51,700 --> 00:36:53,060 So it's a remaking it. 632 00:36:53,060 --> 00:36:53,620 Did you see that? 633 00:36:53,620 --> 00:36:54,740 Paul Giamatti is coming out. 634 00:36:56,180 --> 00:36:57,540 I did not see that. 635 00:36:57,540 --> 00:37:00,340 No, it's going to get back in the news. 636 00:37:00,340 --> 00:37:00,820 Wow. 637 00:37:00,820 --> 00:37:01,060 Okay. 638 00:37:01,060 --> 00:37:02,740 So yeah, well, you got to get ahead of the curve. 639 00:37:02,740 --> 00:37:04,420 You have to get the word out there. 640 00:37:04,420 --> 00:37:08,660 And another thing, the first one on SEO on that. 641 00:37:09,620 --> 00:37:10,180 Yeah. 642 00:37:10,180 --> 00:37:10,420 Yeah. 643 00:37:11,540 --> 00:37:18,180 But Dave, I have a curious question with the, and the new England hostile network has built up. 644 00:37:18,180 --> 00:37:18,420 Yeah. 645 00:37:19,140 --> 00:37:23,540 Would you now, are you a member of the Naha like the North American hostile association? 646 00:37:24,100 --> 00:37:24,740 I'm not. 647 00:37:25,780 --> 00:37:26,660 I'm aware of it. 648 00:37:26,660 --> 00:37:28,980 I know of now there's another one. 649 00:37:28,980 --> 00:37:34,100 What stopped you from joining as we were heartbroken not to see you at the past events? 650 00:37:34,100 --> 00:37:37,620 Um, time, I guess. 651 00:37:39,460 --> 00:37:44,020 So I think I told Bobby, but I don't know about you, James. 652 00:37:44,020 --> 00:37:46,100 I have a four month old now. 653 00:37:46,980 --> 00:37:47,780 Oh my God. 654 00:37:47,780 --> 00:37:49,860 Congratulations. 655 00:37:49,860 --> 00:37:50,340 Thank you. 656 00:37:51,300 --> 00:37:53,300 That may be the only excuse I could accept. 657 00:37:53,300 --> 00:38:00,980 So yeah, so, so time, time is, uh, very important now. 658 00:38:00,980 --> 00:38:04,180 Um, it's, it's, it totally changes once you have a child. 659 00:38:04,180 --> 00:38:13,860 Um, as you probably know, Bobby, it's so different and every minute you can get exactly what used 660 00:38:13,860 --> 00:38:16,500 to take 10 minutes now takes an hour and a half. 661 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:22,660 What used to take an hour and a half now takes three days, you know, it's totally changed. 662 00:38:22,660 --> 00:38:30,580 Um, my perception and how I operate this business, including branching out to larger communities 663 00:38:30,580 --> 00:38:31,700 like Naha. 664 00:38:31,700 --> 00:38:40,100 Um, I did go to, uh, that, um, American house conference that I saw you guys at, um, a few 665 00:38:40,100 --> 00:38:43,780 years back that might've been 20, how about 2018? 666 00:38:43,780 --> 00:38:44,100 Yeah. 667 00:38:44,100 --> 00:38:45,140 Charleston. 668 00:38:45,140 --> 00:38:45,380 Yes. 669 00:38:47,380 --> 00:38:48,580 Yeah, I know. 670 00:38:48,580 --> 00:38:50,820 They're overdue for a hostile conference. 671 00:38:50,820 --> 00:38:52,820 Bring the family, bring the whole family last time. 672 00:38:53,460 --> 00:38:53,700 Yeah. 673 00:38:54,740 --> 00:38:55,620 We bring the kids. 674 00:38:55,620 --> 00:38:56,260 Baby friendly. 675 00:38:56,900 --> 00:38:57,620 Great. 676 00:38:57,620 --> 00:38:58,020 Great. 677 00:38:58,020 --> 00:38:59,620 We'll, we'll, we'll try to make it work. 678 00:38:59,620 --> 00:39:06,020 Cause like I said, it's, it's, um, it's an interesting juggle to, I live, I live about 679 00:39:06,900 --> 00:39:09,860 25 feet away from this building in another building. 680 00:39:10,580 --> 00:39:13,140 Um, I can see the lights on at night. 681 00:39:13,140 --> 00:39:18,660 So it's this, uh, the person that you said earlier, Bobby, the hostile is my life and 682 00:39:18,660 --> 00:39:22,020 my life is a hostile that rings so true for me. 683 00:39:22,020 --> 00:39:24,180 I'm here all the time. 684 00:39:24,180 --> 00:39:31,140 I see everything and, and time is so different now. 685 00:39:31,140 --> 00:39:36,340 So I would, I would love to, to reach out and be part, part of larger communities like 686 00:39:36,340 --> 00:39:36,980 that. 687 00:39:36,980 --> 00:39:42,500 Um, and it's, it's definitely on my radar, uh, and not off the table for sure. 688 00:39:42,500 --> 00:39:42,740 So. 689 00:39:43,300 --> 00:39:46,740 Well, you know, the, uh, spread the word in that network too. 690 00:39:46,740 --> 00:39:51,860 And I'm sure that it'd be willing to give a good deal to you for joining if, uh, you 691 00:39:51,860 --> 00:39:53,060 all joined together, right? 692 00:39:53,060 --> 00:39:58,180 If the entire New England network became a part of because that's definitely they've 693 00:39:58,180 --> 00:39:59,300 got to Jim Kennedy. 694 00:39:59,940 --> 00:40:03,620 It's got a great thing going on and we've seen a few different ones pop up. 695 00:40:04,180 --> 00:40:09,300 Uh, and then the gals in Denver have an amazing, uh, movement going on. 696 00:40:09,300 --> 00:40:12,100 Have you joined that with the hostiling us? 697 00:40:12,100 --> 00:40:13,220 I have not. 698 00:40:13,220 --> 00:40:16,660 Um, you're all being very much isolated. 699 00:40:16,660 --> 00:40:17,860 Over there in New England. 700 00:40:17,860 --> 00:40:18,580 I don't know. 701 00:40:18,580 --> 00:40:21,300 So I'm from New England, so don't make me come home. 702 00:40:22,900 --> 00:40:24,180 We'd love to have you, Jimmy. 703 00:40:25,700 --> 00:40:29,300 I'll hop on the Harley and I'll drive door to door and make you all join. 704 00:40:29,300 --> 00:40:30,020 Perfect. 705 00:40:30,020 --> 00:40:30,580 Yeah. 706 00:40:30,580 --> 00:40:38,180 I think, um, so the, the main goals of the New England hostile network right now, um, 707 00:40:38,180 --> 00:40:44,900 are really the, the, it all started during COVID, um, when we needed some guidance in 708 00:40:44,900 --> 00:40:47,540 navigating, uh, should we be open? 709 00:40:47,540 --> 00:40:48,580 Can we be open? 710 00:40:49,380 --> 00:40:54,980 And so we all kind of gathered together and then, um, we all decided to join the New 711 00:40:54,980 --> 00:40:57,540 Hampshire lodging and restaurant association. 712 00:40:58,180 --> 00:40:59,780 Um, so I'm still a member of that. 713 00:40:59,780 --> 00:41:03,860 I'm not sure if the other, uh, members of the New England hostiles network are, um, 714 00:41:03,860 --> 00:41:09,460 but they're a crazy valuable resource for, for us in operating. 715 00:41:09,460 --> 00:41:15,620 They'll give you literally everything that you ever needed, um, without, I mean, 716 00:41:15,620 --> 00:41:23,140 not money, but, but yeah, any, any resource that you need, any sort of information, um, 717 00:41:23,860 --> 00:41:27,780 when it comes to operating any place with a bed or booze. 718 00:41:30,740 --> 00:41:30,980 Yeah. 719 00:41:30,980 --> 00:41:33,700 So that's, that's our main focus right now. 720 00:41:33,700 --> 00:41:40,740 And perhaps we can broaden that to, to a Naha or a hostile US, um, in the future. 721 00:41:41,940 --> 00:41:42,500 All right. 722 00:41:42,500 --> 00:41:46,740 Well, one last question, I'm going to send out an invitation, but you're, you're tough 723 00:41:46,740 --> 00:41:50,580 with, you know, you're not attending any of the conferences, but I was going to 724 00:41:50,580 --> 00:41:52,100 invite you to an old classic. 725 00:41:52,100 --> 00:41:56,260 We still do our company manager retreat of the Josh retreat music festival. 726 00:41:56,900 --> 00:41:57,940 Oh man. 727 00:41:57,940 --> 00:42:02,020 We've started to take and invite other hostile owners and managers with us. 728 00:42:02,020 --> 00:42:06,340 We've got Joe from bond fall and sharkies coming this October. 729 00:42:06,340 --> 00:42:06,580 Cool. 730 00:42:07,220 --> 00:42:10,980 Alfie is a manager up at the HI Windsor. 731 00:42:10,980 --> 00:42:14,820 So I was going to say, Dave, if you come out, I'll, I'll pay for your ticket. 732 00:42:17,300 --> 00:42:20,660 But that's, uh, that's tougher. 733 00:42:20,660 --> 00:42:21,380 I understand. 734 00:42:21,940 --> 00:42:22,660 Yeah. 735 00:42:22,660 --> 00:42:26,900 I would accept an attendance at either one of the conferences in its place. 736 00:42:27,460 --> 00:42:28,180 Sure. 737 00:42:28,180 --> 00:42:28,820 Sure. 738 00:42:28,820 --> 00:42:33,460 I'll try to make one of those things happen. Um, and it's funny that you bring up 739 00:42:33,460 --> 00:42:38,260 the J tree music fast because we were just talking about that in our manager meeting 740 00:42:38,260 --> 00:42:48,900 two days ago and how that was another pivotal, you know, very, uh, very poignant point in my life. 741 00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:51,940 Um, from world Packers out there. 742 00:42:52,660 --> 00:42:53,540 Say again. 743 00:42:53,540 --> 00:42:56,180 It was us and Eric from world Packers out there. 744 00:42:56,180 --> 00:42:57,460 Yeah, absolutely. 745 00:42:57,460 --> 00:42:58,020 Yep. 746 00:42:58,020 --> 00:42:58,500 Yep. 747 00:42:58,500 --> 00:42:58,980 Really. 748 00:42:58,980 --> 00:43:00,580 You should see how much you've improved it. 749 00:43:00,580 --> 00:43:02,820 We've got our bees, we've got power, we got water. 750 00:43:02,820 --> 00:43:07,060 I mean, that back in the day, I tell stories about those early trips when it was just, 751 00:43:07,060 --> 00:43:10,420 you know, a couple of gallons of water, a few tents and a sleeping cot. 752 00:43:11,060 --> 00:43:11,860 Exactly. 753 00:43:11,860 --> 00:43:12,260 Yep. 754 00:43:12,260 --> 00:43:13,300 I didn't even have a car. 755 00:43:13,300 --> 00:43:15,540 I was right on the, right on the sand. 756 00:43:17,060 --> 00:43:17,700 Yeah. 757 00:43:17,700 --> 00:43:20,740 We've come a long way to a long way and there is a kid's bill. 758 00:43:20,740 --> 00:43:23,060 So remember it's day, it's daycare friendly. 759 00:43:23,060 --> 00:43:23,540 Yep. 760 00:43:23,540 --> 00:43:23,860 Yep. 761 00:43:24,500 --> 00:43:24,820 Wow. 762 00:43:24,820 --> 00:43:28,740 Well, hey, thank you so much for joining us, David. 763 00:43:28,740 --> 00:43:32,740 I mean, just the blast from the past and we've always been so proud of you and we always 764 00:43:32,740 --> 00:43:35,540 tell everyone about you and what you've done over there. 765 00:43:36,660 --> 00:43:41,060 Happy to get excited to see you continue to grow over there at the barn door. 766 00:43:41,060 --> 00:43:46,260 And I look forward to one day visiting and I do when I come back home and one of these 767 00:43:46,260 --> 00:43:49,140 visits, but keep on rocking out there, brother. 768 00:43:49,140 --> 00:43:50,580 So nice to talk to you. 769 00:43:50,580 --> 00:43:50,980 Yeah. 770 00:43:50,980 --> 00:43:51,220 Yeah. 771 00:43:51,220 --> 00:43:52,340 Thank you guys very much. 772 00:43:52,340 --> 00:43:56,980 It was, it's really, really good to catch up, really good to see you guys' faces and 773 00:43:58,180 --> 00:44:01,220 tell some stories that you know and don't know. 774 00:44:01,220 --> 00:44:03,060 So now you know. 775 00:44:04,980 --> 00:44:05,220 Yeah. 776 00:44:06,100 --> 00:44:06,660 Amazing. 777 00:44:06,660 --> 00:44:07,860 Thanks so much, Dave. 778 00:44:07,860 --> 00:44:08,420 Have a great one. 779 00:44:09,140 --> 00:44:09,940 Thanks guys. 780 00:44:09,940 --> 00:44:22,820 Take care.